The present invention concerns hearing aids, particularly hearing-aid assemblies and components.
For many, it is surprising to learn that one out of every ten Americans suffers from some form of hearing loss, ranking it the third most common disability in the United States, behind arthritis and high-blood pressure. Perhaps even more surprising is that half of those suffering hearing loss are under age 65.
Many hearing-loss sufferers enjoy considerable relief through use of electronic hearing aids. A multitude of advancements ranging from basic miniaturization and microphone and amplifier improvements to digital sound filtering and custom programmability have made it possible for hearing aids to improve the hearing of over 90% of hearing-loss sufferers. Unfortunately, even with these advances, many miss out on the benefits of these miraculous devices because of concerns regarding visibility or cost of the device.
A key factor in both the visibility and cost of hearing aids is still their size. Smaller hearing aids are generally less visible than larger devices, but more difficult and costly to manufacture. Moreover, even where cost is of less concern, manufacturers often have to increase hearing-aid size to provide all the circuitry needed to address some severe forms of hearing loss, ultimately forcing some sufferers to choose between better hearing or less visible hearing aids.
Accordingly, there continues to be a need for smaller hearing aids, particularly hearing-aid circuit assemblies that allow for more cost- and space-effective manufacture.
To address this and other needs, the present inventor devised a unique hearing-aid assembly concept that saves space and facilitates manufacture of hearing aids. One exemplary hearing-aid embodiment includes at least a portion of a hearing-aid housing or earshell containing a unique flex circuit coupled to a microphone and a receiver. The flexible circuit includes at least first, second, and third unfolded regions and a first folded region between the first and second unfolded regions and a second folded region between the second and third unfolded regions. One or more of the unfolded regions include input-output connections to electrical conductors within and/or on the flex circuit, and to a signal processor and supporting resistive and/or reactive components, such as capacitors.
Other aspects of the invention include methods of manufacturing hearing aids and intermediate hearing-aid assemblies. One exemplary intermediate assembly includes a formable plastic disk comprising an integral plastic container containing the exemplary flex circuit (described above.) Mounted to the surface of the disk are a microphone and a receiver which are electrically coupled to the flex circuit. The plastic disk portion of the assembly can be heated and shaped using conventional methods to form housing, or earshell, portion of a hearing aid.